Kallidaikurichi Dr E.S. Sankaranarayana Iyer (1881–1947) was an exceptional man of various talents and a multi-faceted personality who hailed from the village of Kallidaikurichi in Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu (then Madras Presidency). He was a practising physician, composer of classical Carnatic music (in Tamil, Telugu and Sanskrit), a sportsman, animal-lover, freedom fighter and above all, an outstanding human being.
He acquired his knowledge of medicine working under an English doctor attached to Palayamkottai General Hospital, who, convinced of Dr E.S.S.’s knowledge and skill, issued him the certificate for practising as a medical doctor and surgeon. He used his acquired skills to benefit of the rural population, and rendered free medical treatment to poorer sections of society.
During the Pre-Independence period and the Second World War, (1936-1945) the availability of allopathic medicine was extremely limited. Dr E.S.S. effectively produced medicines for various illnesses, combining the various forms of medicines like Ayurvedic, Unani, Siddha and Allopathic practices. In fact, he was making intra-venous Solutions by collecting rain water and there are occasions when the Government Hospital in Palayamkottai approached him for these I.V. solutions in emergencies when they ran out of supplies.
His second love was Carnatic music. He was an avid listener and a practical critic, and in this process, developed skills for composing keerthanams in Tamil, Telugu, and Sanskrit. For this purpose, he upgraded his proficiency in Tamil and learnt Telugu and Sanskrit by undergoing special instructions from the Pandits in those languages. Most of his compositions were written either in dry palmyrah leaves or in standard exercise notebooks. However, he could not publish his compositions and propagate them more widely during his lifetime.
He regularly attended the Music Academy in Madras/Chennai from its inception in 1928 until his death in 1947. His association with the organisers of Music Academy, as well as the great musicians of that time (who did not have the present day advantages of modern sound system and instruments) was cordial and excellent. He was one of the Founder Members of “Expert Committee” of Music Academy who were evaluating concerts and holding discourses on Carnatic classical music.
Dr E.S.S. has to his credit many compositions of Katha Kalakshebam like Valli Thirumanam and himself used to conduct these Katha Kalakshebams. These Katha Kalakshebams have been lost and the family members continue to try to trace them. Also he authored a life history of the renowned nationalist and freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak as a Kalakshebam which he published in a book called “Thilakar Vijayam” (The Victory of Tilak). He passed away suddenly on 2 December 1947 when he was planning to travel to Madras to attend the winter concert season which still happens annually every in December and January.
As a lover of sports, he used to accompany athletic groups irrespective of caste, creed and age and used to cycle long distances to enjoy the thrills of spectatorship and team spirit. As an ardent nationalist fighting for the Independence of India, he was a well-known activist of the Indian National Congress Party, and was accepted as a follower of Mahatma Gandhi. He was not imprisoned in-spite-of his well-known sympathies, as the British Government valued his services and dared not to touch him. He used to wear only genuine hand spun and hand woven Khadar clothings. He had the pleasure and privilege of hoisting the National Flag at the main pole of his native village, Kallidaikurichi, on 15 August 1947.
He was a great lover of animals, and used to have continuous interactions with veterinary doctors to ensure the well-being of cattle in the rural areas. During epidemics of rhinder pests affecting the cattle which often proved fatal to the herds and the livelihoods of their care-takers, he mobilised many veterinary doctors and along with cowherds organised volunteer teams to visit rural areas to give preventive inoculations which helped arrest the spread of deadly epidemics. In this process, he not only saved the animals from almost certain death, but also saved the families of cowherds who were dependent on their animals. He passed away within four months of India attaining her Independence, thus depriving the down-trodden rural population of his free medical services and fatherly advice.
In a small way, he was also an engineer even with limited tools available. In his laboratory, he used to make even surgical equipment which he effectively used in emergency cases requiring surgical treatments, and which often could not be referred to the Palayamkottai General Hospital which was located at a far-distance from patients in need. In this process, he saved many lives and prolonged the lives and health of countless people. Even while working and treating patients, he was always humming and reciting the compositions of great composers like Thyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshidar etc.
He used to approach all problems with great humane approach, including listening to the problems of the people without any bias, coolly without any haste, thus creating a niche in the minds of the local population of Tirunelveli District. After his demise in December 1947, his compositions had gone into archives and storage as his children and grand-children had spread all over India and the world. However, in the year 1966, his seventh daughter and thirteenth child Smt Saraswathi Sankaran took great trouble to bring out a collected volume I of the compositions of Dr. E.S.S. It was a commendable effort and a fitting though belated recognition of a great soul.
In 1993, during the occasion of a family gathering, a need was felt for going through the archives of Dr E.S.S., to publish and propagate all his works, which required much work like setting Tune, Talam, Padam and Raga for the balance compositions. In this process, assistance was rendered by Sri S. Natarajan and Smt Sharada Natarajan (last daughter of Dr E.S.S) to Smt Saraswathi Sankaran. At this point of time, they were aged 70, 68, and 70 respectively. In spite of their frail health and physical limitations, they undertook a substantial effort to publish two additional volumes of Dr E.S.S.’s compositions for posterity.
In this context, looking to the special responsibilities imposed upon the trio and their physical limitations, it was decided in 1994 to form the Maragatham Sankaranarayanan Trust by the members of the family, with the able directives and guidance of senior members of the family, and enthusiastic participation of the entire extended clan living across India and the world.